Neck Lipectomy Lipo - Chances of Crooked Smile or Nerve Damage?

Im 38 and having a neck lipo procedure. I had body lipo a year ago and i had an easy recovery except that i lost use of one of my arms for about a month from nerve damage/ compression. I am worried that neck lipo can result in some facial paralysis and i cant seem to find how common this complication is. I had lots of swelling with my first lipo so i anticipate a ton of swelling from this procedure. My dr is great but he is not sympathetic to this concern-just says numbnes is normal.

Doctor Answers (8)

Nerve injury with neck liposuction

January 28th, 2011

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Injury to facial nerve branches with neck liposuction is certainly possible but not uncommon. When it ouccureds it This can result in paralysis and facial asymmetry. This may occur as a direct result of the surgery and from direct injury to the nerve or from the indirect injury from the suction.

Liposuction, necklift

November 15th, 2010

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Liposuction of the neck very rarely causes nerve damage resulting in a crooked smile. Numbness of the skin may exist for a few weeks following the procedure. I am not a proponent of liposuctioning the neck however. I much prefer to sculpt out the fat under direct vision through a small incision under the chin. This allows tightening of the underlying muscle, and removal of any excess fat that exists deep to the muscle layer, neither of which can be performed with liposuction.

How about a different doctor?

November 11th, 2010

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Dear Vtech

Damage from facial liposuction to the branch of the facial nerve, the marginal mandibular nerve, that supplies motor function to the depressor anguli oris muscle is well described. This is the muscle that pulls the corner of the mouth down. This type injury is uncommon and likely to occur far less than 1% of facial liposuction cases. Facial liposuction performed with larger cannulas and higher suction pressures does seem to increase the risk of this particular injury. Note that motor damage is far more worrisome than sensory nerve injury. While sensory nerve injury can be bothersome, it often recovers and is not directly obvious to others. On the other hand, a crooked smile is disturbing to others in conversation.

I am actually surprised that after experiencing nerve damage from arm liposuction, that you would be enthusiastic to have more liposuction. Certainly, you are aware of the risks. My best recommendation here is that if you are set on having neck liposuction, find a surgeon who takes your concerns of motor and sensory nerve damage more seriously. Seriously.

Nerve damage from liposuction is rare

November 13th, 2010

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Motor nerve damage from neck liposuction is very rare. If the marginal mandibular nerve is disturbed it may fall asleep for a while and cause a failure for the corner of the mouth to lower on the same side as damage so that when the mouth opens, the lower lip will look like it's drooping on the other side. This can take even more than a year to go away and is extremely rarely permanent. Sensation loss from nerve ending compromise may be somewhat more common but does not cause a functional concern despite being annoying.

Nerve injury and liposuction

November 11th, 2010

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Permanent nerve injury is rare in liposuction no matter the site of surgery. The canulas used have blunt tips, and any of the new variations (VASER, PAL, SmartLipo, etc.) emit various types of energy that used correctly will not cause damage to nerves. Anatomically, the main sensory and motor nerves are deep to the fat and should not be at the level of the fat extraction assuming the procedure is done correctly. There may be transient numbness or fuzziness due to bumping into nerves, but this usually returns to normal within several weeks.

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